Politics

In a recent column, Mike Mayo and Alcee Hastings concluded that black candidates tend to bring out the black vote. Barack Obama is proof of this, having received 95 percent of the votes cast by blacks, along with about 50 percent from whites. What does this say about racism? Gary Carlson, Davie

Last week, Gov. Rick Scott campaigned at Capt. Anderson's, the popular restaurant in Panama City Beach owned in part by State Rep. Jimmy Patronis. Two days later, Scott named Patronis one of Florida's five utility regulators. It was another serving of smelly Florida politics. Patronis has no background in energy and law, the best training for those on the Florida Public Service Commission, which Patronis joins on Jan. 1. Patronis does have experience in regulation when it comes to his time in the Florida Legislature, but that background should have disqualified him for a job in which he is supposed to balance the interests of utilities against the interests of customers.

On April 2, the Supreme Court took away the power of our votes with its decision to eliminate limits on how much money an individual can donate to political campaigns. The justices claimed it was an issue of free speech. If so, then donations to PACs, parties and individual candidates should not be hidden behind a non-profit 504(c)4 campaign fund. As donations come in, they should be posted so that we would know who has the candidates' ears. Names and amounts can easily be posted on their websites.

Two political novices are trying to unseat a commissioner, saying much change is needed at City Hall. Voters take to the polls in November to pick a leader for Seat 3, a four-year term. Development in the area along State Road 7 that the city hopes to cultivate into a downtown is one hot-button issue. The city has spent millions purchasing land, made landscaping improvements and erected a clock tower. "It is better to move slowly and get it done right than to rush ahead and regret it later," said incumbent Lesa "Le" Peerman said.

Want to know more about the influence of money and the media on politics, super PACs and the credibility of political polls? The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County is sponsoring a free presentation open to the public on "Money and Politics" at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Children's Services Council building, 2300 High Ridge Road, Boynton Beach . The featured speaker is Florida Atlantic University professor Kevin Wagner, who...

Cal Thomas crossed over into paranoid fantasy when he inveighed against an imaginary, yet insidious, motivation behind the concept of end-of-life counseling. Obviously, Mr. Thomas has never suffered the situation in which a loved one who is nearing the end of life has not expressed a thought or desire about the care he would desire and is now incapable of participating in choices that must be made. That leaves a grieving family to make agonizing decisions about continuing treatment that, in all probability, will be futile and possibly just prolong the process of dying while causing more pain and distress.

Regarding the Feb. 23 Martin Dyckman column, "Scott wants judges who see it his way": I find the opinions expressed in this article outrageous. What about the proverb that states, "The law is blind?" For Mr. Dyckman to suggest that judges should be appointed not on the content of their character and qualifications, but on the color of their skin and ethnic composition, tells me that he has another agenda: fascism. Judges should be nominated based on their abilities to judge a case fairly and in accordance with constitutional precedent, not to fulfill a quota of diversity.

Let's face it, there's politics in nearly everything. But for a minute, let's talk about two politicians who recently put their opposing views aside to deliver a similar message about the importance of giving back and working together. Last Tuesday I heard former President Bill Clinton speak at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in an evening titled "Embracing Our Common Humanity. " It was a general lecture, which included subjects ranging from global warming, to politics, to the current economic climate to the recent partnership between Broward Center and Broward Public Schools.

For the first time I can remember, there were no politically charged comments at the Academy Awards ceremony last Sunday. And I was ready. We had left-wing bomb throwers like George Clooney, Sean Penn, Barbra Streisand and co-host Alec Baldwin all lined up in the "let it fly" zone. But the show turned out to be the silence of the lambs. What's going on? The answer is money, pure and simple. The rise of the machines has dislocated entertainment all over the country. Now you can program your life on your computer and endlessly amuse yourself with iPods, DS games and BlackBerry phones.

You can't blame Floridians for concluding that politics has again trumped fairness at the Public Service Commission. On Wednesday, the Public Service Commission Nominating Council excluded PSC Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano and Commissioner Nathan Skop from an applicant list for the positions both hold now. Argenziano and Skop are finishing their terms and had sought reappointment to the state board that supervises Florida's regulated utilities....

She's routinely re-elected by large margins. As the face of the Democratic Party, she's the top Florida guest on the Sunday TV political talk shows. And along the way, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has made enemies. The downside of her high profile was displayed vividly last week when Politico, a must-read website in the political world, eviscerated Wasserman Schultz's tenure as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. The scathing article was at the top of the Politico website on Thursday - the same day the Weston congresswoman received a lifetime achievement award at a Kennedy Center gala in Washington, D.C., for her personal battle and legislative work against breast cancer.

Marijuana isn't the only pre-gubernatorial debate issue at Broward College. Although the medical marijuana debate Tuesday was the marquee event for the college's Pembroke Pines campus, the north campus in Coconut Creek and central campus in Davie will host a series of lectures and events leading up to the tête à tête between Gov. Rick Scott and former Gov. Charlie Crist on Oct. 15. This Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in Coconut Creek, Irela Bagué...

It's going to be a long two months with the same TV ads running every 15 minutes. The Rick Scott campaign is running one that says Charlie Crist was for sale since he was the Republican governor during the Scott Rothstein era. Since he was a Republican at the time, it would have been refreshing if the Republicanas had run this ad while he was in office. If Crist were still a loyal Republican, and only in a primary against Scott, I bet this ad wouldn't be on the air. The hypocrisy is so thick that it's hard to swallow, particularly if you are aware of who Scott is, and his background as the CEO of a hospital corporation responsible for the largest Medicare fraud in history.

Residents who consider running for Coral Springs City Commission but do not file during the qualifying period will henceforth not get a second chance. An ordinance that forced the city to reopen the qualifying period for mayor this time, after former mayor Roy Gold first filed and then withdrew from the race against Commissioner Tom Powers, has been scrapped. Henceforth, if only one candidate remains in the race after an opponent withdraws, dies or is removed from office, he or she will be declared elected.

Random thoughts on the passing scene: I don't know why we are spending our hard-earned money paying taxes to support a criminal justice system, when issues of guilt and innocence are being determined on television — and even punishment is being meted out by CNN's showing the home and address of the policeman accused in the Ferguson, MO. shooting. One of the big differences between Democrats and Republicans is we at least know what the Democrats stand for, whether we agree with it or not. But, for Republicans, we have to guess.

You can look at Jeb Bush's words against medical marijuana in two ways. You can say it's gutsy for a possible presidential candidate to oppose the medical marijuana amendment on the November ballot in Florida, since an overwhelming majority of Floridians favor it. Or you can say Jeb is merely appealing to his tea party base which opposes the evil weed. Either way, I think Bush is wrong to oppose the amendment, but I give him credit for having a strong opinion and sticking to it, particularly since he will be questioned about it often if he runs for president.

A recent letter writer lamented how "partisan politics" by congressional Republicans is strangling the "process of government. " The writer states the obvious: President Obama was elected by a majority. He fails to mention each representative in Congress was also elected by a majority. There seems to be a perception that our government is controlled by the president and Congress is supposed to agree and acquiesce to the president's will. Unfortunately many people seem to share this view, especially when their party holds the White House.

A campaign operative who built his career on smearing political enemies, publicly calls women the C-word and consulted for attorney-turned-Ponzi-schemer Scott Rothstein has become one of Sheriff Scott Israel's trusted political guides. The sheriff's relationship with Roger Stone is a bond of contradictions, tying Broward's highest-ranking Democrat with a longtime Republican-turned - Libertarian. The sheriff is a man of old-fashioned manners who rarely curses, and who talks about integrity at every turn.

Emmanuel G. Morel's campaign is in debt , he said he's personally tapped out and he doesn't know where he can get more cash. He's never run for office before. And he's challenging a popular, well-funded incumbent. But Morel has a website and a spot on the ballot - and insists he can topple Congressman Ted Deutch in the Aug. 26 Democratic primary in the 21st Congressional District in northwest Broward - including all or parts of Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Margate and Parkland - and southwest Palm Beach County - including all or parts of West Boca , West Boynton , West Delray, Greenacres and Wellington . "I will win," Morel said.